The Spectacle Blog

Somehow, the American contingent negotiating with the Iranians missed a very important aspect of America's interest in recreating Iran as a friend: getting four Americans, held by the Iranians on trumped-up charges, including one WaPo reporter, the hell out of the country before they're "convicted." Yesterday, when Major Garrett dared to ask the President why he'd managed to eek out a terrible deal with the Iranians while ignoring his own countrymen, President Obama threw a small, public tantrum, like a two year old who has just been told he can't have an entire box of Swedish Fish for dinner, claiming that he couldn't negotiate for prisoners while also negotiating over nukes.

I'm hearing a lot of talking points being repeated about “this is a bad deal” -- “this is a historically bad deal,” “this will threaten Israel and threaten the world and threaten the United States.” I mean, there’s been a lot of that.

Before leaving for Israel, British Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond claimed, “Israel does not want an agreement, but confrontation” with Iran. Hammond added that Israel is interested in “a perpetual dual” with Iran.

“The notion that I am content, as I celebrate, with American citizens languishing in Iranian jails — Major, that’s nonsense, and you should know better,” Obama said, adding: “I’ve met with the families of some of those folks, and nobody’s content.”

The president said teams are working “diligently” to free them, but said tying their freedom to negotiations could create an incentive for Iran to use American prisoners as leverage for concessions.

The fact that Obama would enter into nuclear negotiations with a country that is holding Americans captive speaks volumes about his judgment or lack thereof. It is President Obama who should know better.

At the beginning of the week, I offered six reasons why I believe Scott Walker will be elected President. Here is an excerpt from Reason #6:

The reason liberals have failed to oust Walker from office is that liberals portray Walker as a monster, but Walker simply doesn’t come off that way to most people. If anything it is the liberals who have been far more monstrous in their behavior towards Walker and his family, effectively making him a more sympathetic figure. When the Boston band the Dropkick Murphys objected to Walker using their version of the Woody Guthrie penned song “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” at the Iowa Freedom Summit, they tweeted, “we literally hate you.” This says a great deal more about the Dropkick Murphys than it does about Scott Walker. I suspect we will see a lot more of this and, to paraphrase Nietzsche, what does not kill Walker will make him stronger. If Walker can carry himself with more decency than his opponents, then he will go far.

Maryland has placed a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, also called “fracking,” for energy extraction in the state until October 2016.

The bill became law without Gov. Larry Hogan’s (R) signature and contrasts strongly with Oklahoma’s embrace of fracking.

Hogan was elected in 2014 after campaigning as a strong supporter of fracking. During the campaign, he cited a 2014 study from Towson University’s Regional Economic Studies Institute that found hydraulic fracturing in western Maryland could generate more than 3,000 jobs and upwards of $5 million in new tax revenue each year during peak drilling. Hogan said the state was “sitting on an economic gold mine.”

The law, approved by veto-proof margins in both houses of the Democrat-controlled legislature, went into effect May 29.

Lack of Knowledge Cited

Gary Stone, vice president of engineering for Five States Energy, says Maryland’s limited experience with the process and benefits of fracking may have contributed to support for the ban.

I maintain that I know very little about foreign policy, which is why I've left the conversation surrounding the Iran deal to the site's more experienced foreign policy commentators, choosing to take the "dead babies" stories instead. But what I do know is that, even among the most liberal Internet commentators, the Iran deal is, at best, controversial.

Early yesterday morning, the coverage was laudatory. Which meant, obviously, that Hillary Clinton, who was supportive of the deal but, ultimately, sanguine about it in her initial interviews. As coverage peaked in the morning, Hillary Clinton was dancing around backstage in DC offering "full-throated" support for Iran's sudden, yet predictable, nuclear advantage. But as reporters read the lengthy deal, released yesterday afternoon, their opinions soured.

The American League won its 3rd straight All-Star Game with a 6-3 victory in Cincinnati.

Angels superstar Mike Trout set the tone when he led off the game with a solo HR off NL starting pitcher Zack Greinke. The Dodger righty would fan four in two innings, but he couldn't catch Trout.

The NL tied the game at 1-1 in the second on a single by Cardinals shortstop Jhonny Peralta, but this did not impress the Reds faithful who lustily booed anything to do with the Cardinals including former Cardinal Albert Pujols. I guess Reds fans think Pujols is no Angel.

The AL took a 3-1 lead in the fifth on a single by Rangers' DH Prince Fielder and a double by Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain.

The NL would come within one run on a solo HR by Pirates centerfielder Andrew McCutchen.

But the AL took the lead for good in the 7th on a double by Orioles third baseman Manny Machado. Fielder would drive in his second run on a sacrifice fly to take a 5-2 lead. The AL would add another run in the 8th on a solo homerun by Twins second baseman Brian Dozier.

To be fair, they start out by saying that the video that hit the web this morning, depicting Planned Parenthood's top doc offering aborted baby organs for sale to a potential buyer, was "heavily edited" and "secretly recorded." The problem? The two-and-a-half hour full video still shows them selling baby parts. And something tells me, as aboveboard as Planned Parenthood thinks these actions are, they'd hardly offer the organs for sale to a bidder with a cell phone camera.

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